Used predominantly in geometry, solid state physics, and mineralogy, particularly in describing crystal structure, a primitive cell is a minimum cell corresponding to a single lattice point of a structure with translational symmetry in 2 dimensions, 3 dimensions, or other dimensions. A lattice can be characterized by the geometry of its primitive cell.
The primitive cell is a fundamental domain with respect to translational symmetry only. In the case of additional symmetries a fundamental domain is smaller.
A crystal can be categorized by its lattice and the atoms that lie in a primitive cell (the basis). A cell will fill all the lattice space without leaving gaps by repetition of crystal translation operations.
Primitive translation vectors are used to define a crystal translation vector, and also gives a lattice cell of smallest volume for a particular lattice. The lattice and translation vectors, and are primitive if the atoms look the same from any lattice points using integers, and .
The primitive cell is defined by the primitive axes (vectors), and . The volume, of the primitive cell is given by the parallelepiped from the above axes as,
Famous quotes containing the words primitive and/or cell:
“A township where one primitive forest waves above while another primitive forest rots below,—such a town is fitted to raise not only corn and potatoes, but poets and philosophers for the coming ages. In such a soil grew Homer and Confucius and the rest, and out of such a wilderness comes the Reformer eating locusts and wild honey.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“each in the cell of himself is almost convinced of his freedom,”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)